Hi, I was just wondering.. I am currently running MBM 5 to monitor the temperature of my CPU. It's usually around 45 C, but sometimes when I'm running some CPU intensive program(s), the temp rockets to 70 or even 80. I was just wondering if the temperature devices detect the heat before the heat sink is able to dissipate it? Or is my heat sink/fan too crappy? I would think that it takes a little while to dissipate the heat, but I'm not sure. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks. PIII 800EB, 256MB, 40GB

Sounds very much like you aren't getting rid of the heat properly. 70C to 80C are the kind of temps you would expect from an AMD CPU. Get a good heatsink\fan and install a case fan in the appropriate location in the font of your case. Quality HSFs are easily available and run $15 - $25 U.S. The Case fan will set you back $7 U.S. So, let's say around $25 U.S. total. You will increase the life of your components and reduce the chance of heat-induced errors. Worth every penny.

Ok, let's say I get a new, better heatsink/fan and case fan. My question is, will the temperatures still go that high (70-80C+), or will they always stay in the "normal" range, no matter what I'm running?

According to the spec sheet for a PIII 800, 80 C is normal high temp for it,

Um.. According to the spec sheet.. 80C is the MAXIMUM junction/core temp. If you're getting that.. better invest in some heavy cooling products. And according to AMD.. the maximum operating temp. for Athlons under 1.1 Gig is 90C and 95C for faster ones. Of course you actually temp should be no where near these limits..but of course.. some of us like taking chances =]

Ummmm... If you are installed in a Slot 1 type, then 75C is "normal". Socket 370 installations actually run 10C degrees higher according to what I read... If your present cpu, heatsink and fan came as a "boxed" installation (or your PC is an off the shelf purchase from a mianline provider), I suspect what you have is what you need. Look at what you have, then look at what's in the store (but not the cheapest stuff) and see if if it's much different.